THE MIDDLE AGES

Outcome: The Crusades

Constructive Response Questions

7.

What were The Crusades and what

effect did they have on the people
of Europe and the Holy Lands?

The Crusades
1.

The Crusades
What is a crusade?

a.
i.
ii.

A holy war involving the journey of thousands of Europeans to reclaim

the holy land of Jerusalem in the name of Christianity
In all, there were 8 or 9 Crusades (depending on your source)

The Crusades
b.

When were the Crusades?

i. Starts in 1093 and lasts for nearly 300 years

The Crusades
c.

Why crusade? Social, Economic, Spiritual, & Political reasons

i.
Social: Opportunity to get knights to stop fighting each other and
fight a new foe. These knights threatened peace in Europe.
ii.
Economic: The Holy Lands of Jerusalem were generally wealthier than
Europe and many wanted to get their share of that wealth

The Crusades
Why crusade? Social, Economic, Spiritual, & Political reasons

c.

iii.

Economic: Younger sons who did not stand to inherit fathers property
were looking for wealth and adventure

iv.

Economic: Merchants supplied loans to finance the journey

The Crusades
Why crusade? Social, Economic, Spiritual, & Political reasons

b.

v.
vi.

Political: A chance for the pope to gain territory instead of Byzantine rival
Spiritual: Fight/die on Crusade = ticket to heaven (Christian contradiction)

Pope Urban II

2.

The Crusades
What happened:
First Crusade

a.
i.

Pope Urban II called for a holy war against Muslims controlling holy lands

ii.
iii.
iv.
v.

Urbans call brought tremendous support for the Crusade

Those who died on Crusade were assured a ticket to heaven
God wills it! was the battle cry
3,000 mile journey from Europe to Jerusalem

vi.

Eventually, 12,000 approached Jerusalem and besieged it for a month

vii.

On July 15, 1099, the Christians captured the city

viii.

In the process, the Christians slaughtered all of the Muslims left in the city

The Crusades
Second Crusade

a.
i.

ii.

The Muslim Army under command of Saladin captured Jerusalem again in 1187

The Christians crusade to defeat Saladin and recapture the city

Saladin

The Second Crusade

The Crusades
b.

The Third Crusade

i. Led by 3 of Europes most powerful monarchs
1.
2.

Philip II of France went home

German Emperor Frederick drowned on journey

The Crusades
c.

The Third Crusade

3. English King Richard the Lion-Hearted
a. Fought many battles against Saladin
b. Agreed to a truce with Saladin in 1192
i. Jerusalem stayed under Muslim control
ii. Saladin promised unarmed Christians could freely visit
the citys holy places

The Crusades
c.

Other attempts
i. 4th Crusade failed to recapture Jerusalem
ii. In the 1200s, four more Crusades were also unsuccessful
iii.

The Childrens Crusade

The Crusades
4.

Effects of the Crusades

b.

Example of Church power

Trade expanded between Europe and Southwest Asia

c.

Thousands of knights and other participants lost their lives

d.

Those who survived brought back culture to Europe

e.

Persecution of Jews; thousands were slaughtered because they were infidels

f.

Failure of later crusades lessened the power of the pope

g.

The Crusades weakened the power of the feudal nobility (Knights were dead)

h.

Began a legacy of bitterness and hatred of Christians for

the Muslims and vice versa

a.

The Crusades

Result: The Crusades were a violation of Thou Shalt Not Kill. It was also an
example of an abuse of church power. The effects of the Crusades are still
felt through that region of the world today.

Constructive Response Questions

7.

What were The Crusades and what

effect did they have on the people
of Europe and the Holy Lands?